Monday, February 25

*A fair warning: this post is picture-laden. There were just too many beautiful moments from this part of the trip!

On the last full day of our trip, husband and I headed out to Granby for a more serene outdoor adventure at Snow Mountain Ranch. We arrived at the park around 9am to rent our gear, then headed out on snow shoes to explore the seemingly endless trails, ridges and peaks. A mere few minutes into our trek, the buildings were small in the distance and not a sound could be heard. No cars, no people. Just a little bit of wind... and then we happened upon two moose!

After winding around some of the flat trails we decided to make the climb to the top of Coyote Tooth and get a view from the ridge. The trail narrowed and steepened, and it felt like we walked into another world. The trees were so still and perfectly laden with snow. The sky was a brilliant blue that allowed the sun to cast perfect shadows on the untouched snow. It was magical.

The view from the top of the ridge was worth the short climb. We decided to brave the slightly chilling breeze and eat lunch atop the ridge. Once we were almost frozen, we decided to head back to the camp and try our luck with cross-country skis. I'll have to say that cross country skiing was not my forte. We only attempted it for about 45 minutes or so, definitely not enough time to figure out the right technique, so it's on our list for the next winter trip we take.

As much as I love downhill skiing, I have to say that this adventure was my favorite. There was something so special about being atop a ridge with untouched snow and feeling a million miles away from anything and anyone. There is a part of my soul that longs for solitude and a closeness with God, and I truly believe that I find that most in His vast creation, in nature.

Thursday, February 21

After our brief time in Boulder, husband and I and our buddies headed over to Winter Park for a few days of skiing. The drive from Boulder to Winter Park was really quite lovely. I enjoyed watching the landscape change as the snow started to cover more of the mountains, the rocks began to fade and the trees began to grow in tall clusters.

Downhill skiing is one of my favorite things to do with K because we are well matched in our skill level {except I may be just a little bit better, ha.} so we always have a ton of fun. Winter Park was gorgeous, with plenty of good tree skiing, my favorite. I love finding skinny little trails off the sides of the runs that wind through the trees. A few times husband was behind me so I knocked some snow off the branches onto his head. Ha! Mary Jane was our favorite mountain with Edelweiss being our favorite run. It was long and winding with lots of trees and hideaways. We skied at Winter Park two days in a row and spent the entire second day skiing over at Mary Jane.

And although Winter Park was lovely and lots of fun, I didn't think it was necessarily better than the other places we have been. Wolf Creek, our honeymoon spot, was a great, smaller scale local place. And Breckenridge is probably my favorite ski destination in Colorado. We didn't eat out in Winter Park, mostly because nothing really grabbed our attention. Instead we spent our evenings in our condo, making dinner, playing cards and watching movies.

You know the night life is just not for me, 'cause all you really need are a few good friends.

Wednesday, February 20

It's about this time every year that I truly start to long for springtime. January has passed with it's cold days and fireplace nights, and as February is winding down, so is my desire for winter. Spring colors start to creep back into my vision, and I long for the days of open toe sandals and trail runs in shorts.

This February is no exception. The instant I eyed these pink pants in my closet this morning, I knew they needed to see the sun. So, I wore them. And although the sun and blue sky made me believe it was warm outside, today's high of 40 had me back inside in a fleece not too long after church.

Tuesday, February 19

Last Friday husband and I packed up and headed out late to visit friends and find adventures in Colorado. We love to ski {we went skiing for our honeymoon!}, hike and basically do anything outdoorsy, so traveling out west is essential for us. Our trip last year was unfortunately cancelled, so we tried our best to fit in as much as possible this time!

We flew into Denver and drove about an hour north to Boulder, where two of our sweetest friends live. {We went to high school with this guy's brother, and honestly feel like a part of their family. K used to spend weekends at the family's cabin in North Georgia when we were in middle and high school.} It was so great to spend time with Joseph and Holly! We haven't been able to just hang out with them since I was in Athens at pharmacy school. They are such cool kids -- so laid back and fun, always up for adventure, and they share our love of delicious food.

We spent Saturday morning wandering around Pearl Street, stopping for coffee at Ozo, hands down my favorite coffee in Boulder. The gorgeous blue sky and flatirons made a great backdrop for the cold day and hot coffee warming our hands. We bopped into the Patagonia store, where husband bought me what I call a "sleeping bag" jacket. It's just. so. warm.

We lunched at Illegal Pete's, and let me tell you, the chicken pesto burrito is where it's at. After lunch, the snow started and we packed up and headed to Winter Park with plans of skiing the next day. The evening was spent telling stories, eating homemade tacos, and playing spades and taboo. Ha! We love games, especially when we have friends to play them with.

We actually spent another 24 hours in Boulder at the end of our trip. We had dinner at a really neat new restaurant called Under the Sun. Delicious handhelds {sandwhiches} made of lemon rosemary chicken + sun-dried tomato aioli + arugula + mozzerella and pulled pork + bacon + honey mustard + arugula served with kale slaw. Um, yes please. The following morning we brunched at Snooze, which was akin to my favorite Athens spot. Breakfast burritos, egg scramblers with goat cheese, and a homemade hashbrown with each plate.

Needless to say, I was pretty smitten with Boulder. If only we had family out there, we would move in a heartbeat... but we just can't stand being that far from our loved ones. So we will visit... often.

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